TRANSFORMERS: THE ENCOUNTER
by Duel Mistress K
Summary: (Armada) Seven is up, sorta the prologue to the episode Gale, I had NO idea what I typed here.... I just did it... so don't blame me if this bites....
1. Beginning

AUTHORS' NOTE: Some of you may have noticed that the character I use in my Transformers fic is almost identical to the one used in my G-Gundam fic… THERE IS A REASON FOR THIS OKAY????? I might make a crossover between them, so stop pestering me about it, please! I suppose you can call this a Mary-Sue, but I'm going to go into how she meets the Transformers in a flashback. AND THIS CHARACTER HARDLY REPRESENTS ME!!!! She's more of my alter ego than a mirror image of me, and I screwed up with my pen name alright?

PS: The flashback has now become the story.

Caitlin: Alright… I've decided to update already because of a _positive_ review or two. (Thank you, Delas and Flyby Stardancer!) Anyway, I'll try my best to make a good fic, and if any of you happen to be looking for anime fiction, check out my G-Gundam one. No one's reviewed it yet. ::sweatdrop::

Red-Alert: Ahem, the Disclaimer???

Caitlin: I know, I know, don't blow a fuse, I'm getting to it.

Hotshot: She's right. Too much stress can be bad for your circuits, you know.

Red-Alert: I never said I was stressed.

Hotshot: I know you didn't, but you just _are_.

::Hotshot and Red-Alert begin to bicker::

Caitlin: {{over the noise}} Optimus, you mind?

Optimus: Not at all. ::clears throat:: The author of this work dosen't own any part of Transformers. She only owns her original character and her Minicon.

Caitlin: Thank you. ^.^

Optimus: Don't mention it.

Smokescreen: Alright! Enough chitchat! Let's get on with the story!

Alexis: ::motioning to Red-Alert and Hotshot:: If _those_ two would be so kind as to clam up….

Scavenger: ::whacks Red-Alert and Hotshot over their heads with a random Transformer-sized um, frying pan:: Shut up, you two!

Hotshot: X_X

Red-Alert: @_@

Alexis: Thank You!

Caitlin: ::sweatdrop:: Now that _that's_ settled, we can continue…

Smokescreen: About slagging time…

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CHAPTER ONE: THE INTRODUCTION

It was a hot August day. School had been out for a few weeks now, so there was nothing to occupy my time except for singing gigs I would get occasionally at different places. Rumors had begun to go around the town about there being strange occurrences up in the mountains. Earthquakes, huge craters in the ground, to name a few. Some people thought it was a coincidence, but I knew better. While walking around those mountains, I came across a strange, green and blue hexagonal plate. I took it home with me, and later that night, it materialized into a human-sized robot! It scared the living bejesus out of me, but it seemed to take a liking to me right away.

"What's your name?" I asked it, curiosity getting the better of me.

In a series of beeps and noises it answered me. "Sideswipe." I was surprised I could understand it, because it wasn't really speaking in a language at all.

"You… You understand me?"

It nodded.

"Well, what are you?"

"I am a Minicon." It answered proudly. "A Transformer from the Planet Cybertron."

"Whoah, whoah, you mean to tell me you're from another planet?"

The Minicon, as it was called, nodded. "We're galaxies apart, actually."

"Are there more of you out there?"

"Yes. Hundreds, even thousands more. But we are hunted."

" 'Hunted?' By who?" 

"By Transformers."

"By what?"

"Beings like us, but they are much larger and much stronger than we Minicons."

"Why are you hunted? Because you're different?"

"No," the Minicon answered sadly. "They use us as tools of war."

"How can they possibly use you as tools?"

"We can combine with the larger Transformers, increasing their power and capabilities by severalfold. There are two different groups on our planet; the Autobots, and the Decepticons, and they fight against each other, using us to power them up."

"I see. And do they oppress you?"

"The Decepticons did treat us as slaves when under their control, but the Autobots thought of us as equals. Both factions are hunting for us again, but the Autobots are only doing this so we can be free."

"Tell me… why are you called 'Transformers'?"

Sideswipe didn't give me an answer, but turned himself into a motorcross-style bike, which about damn near scared me to death.

"You… you… Transformed!!"

"Now you know why we're called Transformers," he said with a laugh in his voice.

After that, I answered Sideswipe's many questions about the planet he had crash-landed on and it's many inhabitants. The concept of a carbon-based life form was surprising to him, and was also intrigued by our technological knowhow, despite being a "primitive" race. We exchanged information on the histories of our planets to one another late into the night….

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***Okay, it's really late right now, so I'm gonna come back tomorrow and pick it up from there. Hopefully I'll get to the part where she actually meets the Transformers and such. Thank you to all who reviewed it… flames and compliments alike. Although I don't like flames, I respect that critic's viewpoint and take them seriously. Many thanks to CrystalRoses16 on clearing a lot of things up…Pray hard for the Raiders tomorrow cuz I think they might need it… Until I update again, Ja!


	2. Confrontation

(A/N) Well, sorry I haven't updated this in a while, I wrote all of those nonsense works to try and get my creative juices flowing… too bad it didn't turn out as I had hoped. The Raiders Losing the Superbowl didn't help much, either. I honestly hope this didn't turn out as bad I think it did. Ah, hell, let's give it a try.

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own any part of Transformers Armada, so don't sue me. I mean that too, because I lost my money to a Superbowl bet.

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CHAPTER TWO: THE CONFRONTATION

The next day, I took Sideswipe to the mountains for a bit of a test-drive. I was amazed at the way he moved! He was much faster than any motocross bike I've ever ridden, and he could also talk to me in that form. It was kinda funny, because at one point in time it looked like I was actually talking to my "bike", which got me a lot of funny glances from the other hikers and bikers (not many, mind you). After that, I decided that we to go off to a less frequented part of the mountains. That's when everything went crazy. As we rounded a corner, we came across two tanks, and a helicopter hovering nearby. I had never seen those kinds of vehicles before, but Sideswipe recognized them right away.

"Oh, no!" he virtually squeaked as he veered to the left, and made me hide with him behind a rock.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked my frightened partner.

"Decepticons!"

"Bad guys?"

Sideswipe only nodded. 

"But they look like normal vehicles to me."

"Watch."

That's when the helicopter spoke: "Megatron, sir! My scanners tell me that this Minicon has already been activated!"

"It doesn't matter, you dolt! If we can capture it I can re-program it to obey my orders!" The largest tank roared back. "Once that pathetic excuse for a Decepticon, Starscream returns, we could proceed."

Overhead, I heard the roar of an engine. I looked to the sky, and saw a red and white jet circle above, and then dive down towards the other vehicles. The moment before it would have collided with the ground, the jet transformed into a humanoid robot, similar to Sideswipe, but this one was well over twenty feet tall. The other three vehicles did the same, and I nearly gave out a yelp of surprise, but my Minicon clamped his metallic hand over my mouth before I could so much as make a sound.

"What do you have to report, Starscream?" the one called Megatron asked the one who had converted from a jet.

"My sensors indicate that we're practically on top of it, but I haven't confirmed a visual, sir."

"Well, fan out and search for it, you useless pieces of metal! I don't want a single stone unturned!"

"Yes sir!" they answered in unison.

That's when it hit me. "They're looking for _you_!" I said to Sideswipe.

"Yes." He answered sadly. "We won't be able to escape from here, I'm afraid."

"We can make a run for it, right?"

"I doubt it. And even if we made it into the city, those Decepticons would follow us. They won't stop until they have me in their possession."

I sighed. "Oh goody."

It was definitely going to be one of _those_ days…

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*okay… I know that was pretty uneventful… so what? I've hit a writers' block again, and I just had to stop somewhere… Ugh, I have an independent reading project to do anyway, so at least I have a valid excuse as to not finishing it. But I am happy that Cartoon Network is playing new episodes of Transformers: Armada ^_^ "VOW" was a cool episode... can't wait for tomorrow's. Finally they did something **right** for a change… after taking "Ronin Warriors" and "Gundam Wing" off I was about ready to give up on them… but thank Primus for G-Gundam and Transformers ^_~ Alright, enough ranting for one chapter. Ja!


	3. Rescue

(A/N) Okay, I'm now getting back into the swing of things with this story (I think), and I'm trying to make this chapter a little longer than the past three. Thank you to all of you that reviewed, and I've shut off that "signed review only" thingy so now everyone can write something. I watched that new Armada episode "Rebellion", and was I the only one who wanted Starscream to beat the living hoo hah out of Megs? Anyway, I hope that they'll show a little bit more of the Autobots in the next eppie. Enough ranting for this chapter.

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Transformers Armada, still broke, so don't sue.

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CHAPTER THREE: THE RESCUE

"So, no matter what we do, those Decepticons will catch us?"

Sideswipe nodded. "Unless we run into the Autobots, the odds of which is practically zero to none."

" 'Autobots'?"

"They're the good guys, remember?"

"Oh yeah. You don't know where to find them by any chance, do you?"

"Nope."

"Great."

The D-cons' leader surveyed his troops looking for the Minicon, all of which were going in the direction opposite of our little hiding spot. I peered out from around the rock to see how far away they really were, which I knew I would regret doing in the long run.

"Caitlin?!" Sideswipe hissed in panic. "Get down! Do you want them to find us?!"

I was about to answer "Don't worry, they won't." when the leading Decepticon turned around and set his fiery orange eyes, er, optics on me. He sent chills up and down my spine, and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I dove back behind that rock faster than you could say "run", but the damage had already been done. 

He grinned malevolently. "Change of plans, men," The leader said coolly.

"Why's that, sir?" the other Decepticon who transformed from a tank asked.

__

He didn't see me, I told myself silently. _He did **not** see me_.

"It seems we have company, Demolisher." He answered with the same malice, looking right at the rock we were situated behind.

"Oh great," I moaned.

"What?" Sideswipe asked me, oblivious to what had happened.

"I'll give you two guesses, and the first one doesn't count."

"They saw us?!"

"Yeah, and they're heading over here as we speak."

"I hate to say 'I told you so', but-"

"I know, I know, I messed up. I say we run for it. We'll have a little bit of a lead on them anyway."

"They'll still catch us!"

"I'm not gonna sit here and just give up. I'll give them a run for their money before they ever lay a hand on me. Now are you commin' or not?"

Sideswipe paused for a moment, sighed, and transformed into his motorcycle mode. "Get on," he ordered.

I smiled. When I met Sideswipe, he was a very cautious Minicon, but only after a day, my tenacity and courage was rubbing off on him.

"So there's a human behind that rock, what good is a human if they don't know where a Minicon is?" the clumsy-looking tank-bot, who I now knew was named Demolisher, asked his leader.

"You fool, don't you know how soft those Autobots are? If we have a human in our possession we could exchange them for their Minicons!"

"Very wise sir," the helicopter Decepticon said in a voice dripping with enthusiasm. "If you don't mind, Megatron, I'll go get that human for you."

I scoffed. "Suckup."

"Go ahead Cyclonus. But if you fail at this you _will_ regret it."

"I won't fail you, Megatron, sir! Catching a human should be no problem!"

"That's what _he_ thinks," I added under my breath.

"So which way do we go?" Sideswipe asked me.

"Straight ahead."

"But we'd be going _towards_ them! What good would that do?"

"If we wait until they're literally on top of us, and go _between_ them, it'll buy us some more time to escape."

"Oh, I see," Sideswipe said, finally understanding my logic.

"On the count of three, okay?"

"Alright."

"One…"

"Come out, human!" Megatron's booming voice commanded.

"Two…"

The Decepticons' footsteps were getting closer and closer. Cyclonus' shadow had eclipsed the rock by now. "If you come out from behind there, we'll let ya live a little bit longer."

"Three!!"

At my mark, we tore out from behind that stone, and went right between the Decepticons' legs. As I had hoped, it took them a good few seconds to turn their huge frames around, and by then we had a decent head start.

"Hey!" Cyclonus shouted plaintively. "Get back here, you little runt!"

"After that human!" Megatron roared. "She's got the Minicon!"

"Yes sir!" they responded in unison.

I looked over my shoulder, and saw Cyclonus and Starscream revert into their vehicle modes.

"Oh great!"

Remember that little line about getting a head start? Forget it. What the two aerial Decepticons lacked in ground maneuverability, they compensated for in the air.

"Sideswipe! You have my full permission to gas it!"

"This is as fast as I can go without overheating!"

"Can you out-maneuver them?"

"If there were a few of what you humans called 'trees' it would be possible, but without any of them to use as cover, I doubt it!"

"Perfect," I said dryly. But something bothered me: where were Demolisher and Megatron?

I looked over my shoulder once again to find myself staring right down the barrel of a very big cannon, mounted on a tank. Megatron. And right next to him was the other tank-type Decepticon, Demolisher, both of which were having no problem keeping up with Sideswipe and I. That's when things started to get frantic. Cyclonus and Starscream began to pelt us with laser missiles.

"They're shooting at us!" I shouted angrily. "Those creeps!"

One shot was only feet away from my left side, and the shockwave nearly made us wipe out.

"We're doomed!" Sideswipe cried frantically.

I hated to admit it, but I was thinking the exact same thing at that moment. Instead of showing my fear, though, I tried to snap Sideswipe out of his negative attitude by refusing to accept our fate. But as we came to a fork in the road, I forgot that the left trail had been the target of a very nasty rockslide, and was a dead end. It was too late by the time I had realized my mistake, and I knew I had sealed our fate.

"If you give up now, we'll spare your pathetic life. Just hand over that Minicon and we'll let you go," Megatron cooed.

"Never!" I shouted back over my shoulder. "You can never have Sideswipe!"

We came around the final curve of the trail, and I found myself looking straight at four more giant Transformers.

"This was a setup!" I yelled, finally panicking. "They _wanted_ us to come down this trail!"

I tried making Sideswipe bank a sharp right, but he kept going straight.

Right towards the other Decepticons.

"Are you nuts?!" I asked incredulously. "If you haven't noticed, _there are more of them straight ahead of us!!_"

No answer came from my Minicon, and we continued towards the other four Transformers. When we had covered about half of the distance to the new 'bots, the ones I had been so "politely introduced" to came around the corner. Sideswipe and I were still being pelted with ammo from Cyclonus and Starscream, but none of the bullets were actually hitting us.

"I love target practice!" Cried Cyclonus gleefully as he unleashed another round of fire on me.

"Get a new hobby, creep!" I answered back.

Suddenly, Sideswipe hit a sinkhole, sending the both of us careening through the air only to crash down onto the earth again.

"Ow…"

I picked myself up in time to see Cyclonus transform in mid-air, and drop down right in front of me. I was too dazed to run, much less stand, but after shaking my head a few times I was able to see the Decepticon clearly. He reached down, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a blur of yellow. One of the new Transformers slammed himself into Cyclonus, knocking him off balance and throwing him to his big metal butt.

"Back off!" The yellow and orange newcomer shouted.

"Go park yourself, Auto-_boob_!"

Sideswipe cheered. "We're saved!"

"Sideswipe, _what_ is going on?!" I asked my Minicon friend, who had already transformed back into his humanoid robot mode.

"These are the Autobots! Megatron can't touch us now!"

"**_You!!_**" Megatron shouted angrily once he saw his adversaries. "Why do you foolish Autobots always have to get in my way?! If you knew what was good for you, you would back off and leave us to our own devices."

One of the larger Autobots stepped forward. "Not this time around, Megatron. We won't let you capture another innocent Minicon to use for your evil purposes."

"I won't will I? Well, let's see about that!" Megatron then transformed into his robot mode, followed by the other Decepticons, Demolisher and Starscream. The two Decepticon grunts rushed forward and engaged two of the Autobots in combat. The Autobot leader and Megatron locked hands, neither of which were about to budge or back down.

"Hotshot," the red, blue, and white Autobot grunted as he tried to shove Megatron into the mountain wall. "Get the human and the Minicon to safety."

"Yessir," the yellow and orange Autobot answered as he knocked Cyclonus to the ground a second time. "Red-Alert! Cover me!"

The navy and white Autobot who was exchanging fire with Starscream nodded. "Go!"

As the huge Transformer approached, I had the strong urge to run, but Sideswipe put a hand on my shoulder to quell my doubts. "He won't attack us."

"Are you sure?"

Sideswipe was about to respond when the Autobot named Hotshot reached us. "You should listen to your friend. I'm not here to hurt you." He answered as he scooped my Minicon and I into his hands. However, I looked behind, and saw Cyclonus pull himself to his feet, than take to the air in his vehicle mode.

"Behind you!" I cried.

Hotshot turned to see the Decepticon dive upon him, and, with a deafening blast, was sent to the ground a _third_ time, thanks to his comrade, whom he called Red-Alert.

"This is _not_ my day," Cyclonus muttered, his face in the dirt.

__

Like **he** should talk? I said in my mind. _I just wanted to live my life as a normal person but nooooo, I get dragged into **this**_. 

He hauled bumper to a nearby ledge that overlooked the battle, where three kids and three Minicons were standing. Right away I recognized them. They were a couple years younger than me, but they definitely went to the middle school that shared the same building as the high school. As far as I knew, they were a close-knit group that hung out together every chance they got.

"Hotshot? Did you get the Minicon?" a boy with blond hair asked as we neared them.

"Sure did, Rad. But, uh, I think we're _all_ gonna have a bit of explaining to do once this is over," He answered, looking down at me with his blue optics.

__

Just so long as I don't have to do any explaining, I thought silently. _After all of this, I really don't feel like talking_.

Hotshot set me down on the ledge gingerly, and then returned to battlefield. Just in time, too, because the stocky, orange and blue Autobot who was fighting Demolisher wasn't having an easy time.

"Ya need some help, Smokescreen?" Hotshot called out to him. Cyclonus wasn't about to get up and start fighting any time soon, so he had nothing to worry about.

The battered Autobot glanced at him with his red optics for a moment. "I'm fine. Just keep _them_ from getting that Minicon. Liftor! Let's go! Powerlink!!"

At his command, a Minicon attached himself to the base of the lift crane mounted on his right shoulder, and what appeared to be a laser cannon swung forward. Demolisher took three steps back before Smokescreen fired, flooring him instantly. And he didn't get up. Ouch.

"That's gonna leave a mark," I said under my breath.

Now I knew why the Minicons were so valuable.

"Give it up, Megatron! You won't get the Minicon this time!" The apparent leader of the Autobots said, contempt ringing in his voice.

The head D-con growled. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right, Prime. Decepticons, retreat."

And in the blink of an eye, they were gone. I let out a sigh of relief.

I was safe.

Sideswipe and I hugged each other merrily. "Yay! Those creeps can't get ahold of us now!"

"Look at 'em run!" Hotshot crowed. "That wasn't even a fight!"

"Speak for yourself," Smokescreen mumbled, nursing a rather nasty gash on his arm. "Hey, Red-Alert, can you fix this?" He winced in pain as he tried to move it.

"Once we get back to the base, yes. But I think we have another problem," he answered, turning around to look at me.

"Yes," The leader (whom the kids had called Optimus) agreed as he did the same.

Great. Attention. Just what I don't need. I **_hate_** being put in the spotlight. But I was just a tad bit more worried about what they wanted to do with me than about my social phobia.

"Aw, cut it out, guys!" Hotshot spoke out, waving his hand dismissively. "You two are freakin' her out by acting all serious and stuff."

That's when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It wasn't Sideswipe, but it was one of the kids who seemed to already know the Autobots. Beside her stood an orange colored Minicon. "Don't worry. These guys just want to help out."

I nodded absently. I still couldn't believe something like _this_ was happening to me. It was more than I _wanted_ to believe, actually. I guess I'm just a sucker for this sort of stuff or something, but I always seem to find myself in one crazy dilemma after another.

"So, should we go then?" Smokescreen asked finally.

"Let's move out," Optimus answered. 

"We wouldn't want to forget about _them_, now, would we?" Hotshot inquired, heading casually over in the direction of the ledge we were situated on. He then held out his hands, allowing my Minicon and I to step onto them. Lowering me to the ground, he again set me down with the utmost care, and then proceeded to do the same for the other kids.

"Thanks Hotshot," one of the other kids said. He had darker skin than the other two, with curly dark hair and brown eyes.

"Don't mention it. Now let's get out of here before those Decepticons change their minds."

Simultaneously, all of the Autobots reverted into their vehicle modes: an eighteen-wheeler, a hot-rod, a rescue vehicle, and a crane truck. The eighteen-wheeler (who happened to be Optimus) pulled around to the other three kids and their Mincons, and opened his door. They all clambered into his cab with ease, although it was quite a distance above the ground. Snapping me out of my thoughts, Hotshot came up on my right and opened his door.

"Can I offer you a ride?" I could almost _hear_ the grin in his voice.

Sideswipe nudged me towards him. "Go. He's no Decepticon, and besides, he saved the both of us."

"Okay," I answered sheepishly, and then climbed into the driver's seat.

By the time Sideswipe and I were set, the other three Autobots were already moving back up to the good trail, which I concluded would lead them to their base.

"You ready?" He asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Sometime during this cycle, Hotshot!" one of his comrades called back.

"I'm commin', I'm commin'. Don't blow a fuse already!"

I giggled. I couldn't believe myself. I had been chased by giant _bad_ robots. I had been saved by giant _good_ robots. I was riding back to their base _in_ a giant robot.

__

And I was giggling.

I must be going crazy…

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(Author's note) Ugh, this took me forever! God! I started this on Tuesday and it's freakin' Friday! ::bangs her head on the wall:: damn my writers' blocks! Damn my writers' blocks! Damn my writers' blocks! Just tell me if it's good or not. And I'm thinking of making this flashback into an actual story. If you like that idea tell me, k? Buh-bye!!! ^_^


	4. Return

DMK: Hey everybody! I actually updated this little fic because I'm bored. Regents Exams are finally over for me (YAY!), so as long as my fossil of a computer stays intact, I should be okay. Well, actually until my report card comes out… ::whimpers::

Red-Alert: You didn't study for those exams, did you?

DMK: Uh… maybe for about five minutes, but you know I have the attention span of a fruit fly! I can't cram like everybody else!

Red-Alert: …

DMK: ((to the readers)) Oh, BTW, the events of this story won't necessarily follow the show. And one more warning: THE NEXT THREE CHAPTERS WILL SUCK BIGTIME!!! Sooo, if you're into reading my nonsense, go right ahead and do so. I will not be held responsible for any type of mental side effects this story will cause.

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CHAPTER 4

It felt rather weird riding in a giant robot, but Sideswipe kept telling me not to worry. I did stay relatively quiet during the ride, but my ride had other plans.

"So what were ya doin' hangin' out with the Decepticons, huh?"

"You're asking me? I had no idea that they were after Sideswipe, they found me."

"Sideswipe, so that's you're friend's name?"

"Yup."

"And what's yours?"

"It's Caitlin." I cringed, if only internally, when I said that. For some reason introductions aren't my forte', don't ask me why.

"Caitlin, huh? Well, it's nice t' meetcha. You can call me Hotshot."

"Nice to meet you too."

Just then we caught up with the tail end of the other Autobots.

"Where have you been?" The orange one I had learned was called Smokescreen asked.

"Would you give me a break? We're not in any hurry y'know."

"I'm just messin' with ya! Jeez, kids these days…"

Eventually, our little convoy stopped in the middle of the gorge, in front of a huge cave.

"So this is your base?" I asked Hotshot.

"Not quite. It's hidden in here, but it just looks like an old cave from the outside." And with that, he opened his door. "Sorry, but I can't move as easily in there while I'm in vehicle mode."

"That's cool." So Sideswipe and I got out.

As the other Autobots transformed, I felt the natural urge to run. I still wasn't used to the notion of giant robots, but unfortunately, I really didn't have a say in the matter.

When they set off into the cave, the three kids had their Minicons transform into their vehicle modes, allowing them to keep up with them. I asked Sideswipe to do the same, and he did. I stayed completely silent, and listened to the bots ahead of me: cajoling, talking, but nothing about what they were going to do about my situation. We drew deeper into the cavern, and I guess the kids wanted me to feel at ease, so they hung back and rode with me.

The only other girl in the group came to me first. Obviously I looked scared to her, because she told me, "Don't be afraid of these guys. They're not that bad."

"Yeah!" The darker colored boy riding his skateboard Minicon on my far right added. "Once you get to know 'em they're great to hang with."

I smiled. These middle schoolers weren't too bad either, despite the fact I was in high school. "Well, they're definitely better than those Decepticons. At least these guys don't want to blow my head off."

The three kids laughed.

"I'm Alexis," The girl introduced herself.

The blond boy next to her added, "And I'm Rad."

"Oh, and my name's Carlos." The kid on my right added.

"I'm Caitlin. And this is my friend Sideswipe."

"Nice to meet you Caitlin," Rad said. "And you too, Sideswipe."

We were in the process of beginning a conversation when we came to a dead end. For a moment I thought we would turn around, but then I saw the lead Autobot place his huge hand on the wall. A straight crack ran its way down the rock face, and then split open.

It was a door.

"Suh-weet," I said to myself. At first, the illuminated base blinded me, but once my eyes adjusted, I saw a room that would put the Roman Cathedral to shame.

"So, what do ya think of the Autobot's _cozy_ base?" Carlos asked me.

"Dude... It's huge." And I was just about to ask Carlos something (what it was escaped my mind) when the leader finally spoke to me.

"I'm sorry we had to take you without an explanation. It was too much of a risk to leave you there."

"I'm sort of glad that you did," I answered, finally gathering up enough courage to speak to one of them again. "For some reason I don't relish the thought of being the hostage of a demented tank with antlers."

He chuckled. And it was strange; even though he was a machine, I felt warmth behind it. "My name is Optimus Prime."

The stocky orange one smiled and nodded down to me as a sign of acknowledgement. "You can call me Smokescreen."

"And I am Red-Alert," The navy and white one standing beside him said.

Hotshot just grinned and winked one of his blue optics at me. I already knew him, after all.

"It's nice to meet all of you," I responded. Sideswipe nodded as well. "My name is Caitlin, and this guy's Sideswipe."

"It's nice to meet you both. Now, if you want an explanation of what's going on I'll be more than happy to give it to you." Optimus said kindly.

"Well, all I know is, the Decepticons are bad, you guys are good, and you want to save the Minicons from them. That's all that Sideswipe told me, that is. Anything I left out?"

Hotshot folded his arms over his chest. "Nope. Ya pretty much summed it all up."

The Autobot leader seemed a bit surprised by the amount of knowledge I possessed on this conflict. "Yes. Hotshot's right."

"But what now?" I asked. "Is it safe for me to go back, or not?"

"I wouldn't advise it," Red-Alert stated. "Before we entered the cave, I noticed Cyclonus was sniffing around the edge of our base. If you were to return to the city now, they would more than likely capture you."

"Does that mean she has to stay here?" Carlos questioned them.

"It sure looks that way." Smokescreen added.

And, so it was. I stayed overnight at the Autobot's base. At first, I thought that I would never get to sleep; the whole place was made of metal and I was using my backpack for a pillow. But one would be amazed at how soft metal can feel when you're exhausted. Sideswipe and I stayed up on one of the catwalks that are about waist high for an Autobot, which I didn't mind. Within moments of laying down, I was asleep.

***

Until, that is, a few hours later...

I awoke with a start, after hearing some sort of a beastly noise. It had echoed around the base, when the sound was repeated. Following it to its source, across the room, I saw Hotshot, splayed out on his back, snoring like nobody's business.

Then- whump!

I mid-snore, I saw the half-awake Smokescreen, who had been sleeping against the far wall, kick Hotshot (and not very gently either), who rolled onto his back and stopped snoring instantly. {{((A/N: I know they have different quarters, but I thought this would be a little more funny. Flame me if you must…))}}

I nearly busted out laughing. Every so often, Hotshot would roll over again, and someone would have to plant their foot into his back- either Smokescreen, Optimus, or Red-Alert-- whichever one was more awake would do the honors.

__

Dude... with the way they act, they're almost human!

Between one of those cycles of snore, kick, silence, I managed to fall asleep again.

***

It was early in the morning when I woke up. Sideswipe was also awake, but the three Autobots were still out.

Three?! 

"Weren't there four?" I asked myself.

Optimus was missing. 

"Hm... he's probably doing official leader stuff," I noted, clearing the sleep from my eyes.

Once onto my feet, Sideswipe led me to a secret door. Come here, I've got a great place for ya to go visit.

"Wait... how do you know where you're going?"

This was our old Minicon spaceship. I was a member of the crew that piloted the ship, so I still remember a lot about it.

"Oh."

The passageway opened, and I saw natural light on the end of the tunnel. Go, Sideswipe told me. There should be a great view of the sunrise outside.

"Won't you come?"

I want to see the rest of this base. Plus, I would like to hang out with others of my own kind. It's been so long.

"Okay. I'll see you."

I left Sideswipe to explore the rest of the base, and stepped out into the waxing sunlight. To get a better view, I walked up the natural pathway to the top of the little mesa. I came around a corner, and saw Optimus, leaning up against the biggest boulder, watching the sun rise.

Instantly I withdrew back behind the cornerstone, but I heard "I know you're here. There's no reason to hide."

Sheepishly, I stepped out from behind the rock. That's when I realized I had been doing quite an amount of hiding over the past two days, and I was getting a little tired of it.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," I said as soon as I came into his line of vision.

"There's no need to apologize. Sights like these are best shared, I suppose. "

I looked out toward the sun. It was just beginning to clear the horizon, painting the earth in a dazzling array of vermilion and rose. The sun was backed by dark thunder clouds, but strangely seemed less ominous and more welcoming. I had been standing in that same spot, deep in frenzied thought, when I was interrupted.

"Are you alright?"

I looked up at the massive Transformer. Even seated, he eclipsed my small body, giving me the impression of what a mouse might feel like when next to a lion. "I guess. Yesterday I never would have thought I'd be thrown into something like this."

Optimus sighed. Without another word, he outstretched his hand to me, beckoning for me to step onto it. I did, and he lifted me up, and rested his hand on his knee. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to get anyone of you humans involved. You don't have to be a part of this war if you don't want to, but I would request you leave Sideswipe with us."

For a while, I had thought that these Transformers were fighting machines, but this sentimentality proved the Autobots were almost human. 

"Sorry, but I can't do that," I answered. "Sideswipe is a friend of mine, and I can't stand to sit idly by while a war like this is fought."

He seemed taken aback by my willingness to fight. 

"Besides, the Earth is our planet anyway. What kind of person would I be if I didn't fight to protect it?"

The wise Autobot leader nodded sagely. "I respect your decision. But if you are to join us, wouldn't it be wise to at least see your family? They're probably worried about you."

I shook my head. "I don't have a family. There's no need for it."

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"It's alright. I've been living on my own since I was young."

The sun had long ago cleared the horizon, and the peaceful mood was soon interrupted when I heard footsteps. Not the light padding of a human, but the loud, booming noises that could only belong to a Transformer.

"Optimus sir!"

Hearing the voice, he gently set me down and stood up to his full height. Coming around the bend of the trail, Hotshot appeared.

"What is it, Hotshot?"

"We've detected a new Minicon signal."

"Another Minicon, eh?" Optimus repeated.

"That's right."

"Well, we can't waste any time. Let's get moving."

Within moments it seemed, we were back inside the base. I followed the two bots to what seemed like a control room, where Red-Alert and Smokescreen were already waiting. Sideswipe came running into the room with several of the other Minicons.

"What's the situation, Red-Alert?" Optimus asked, resuming the role of leader.

"I've just now locked on to its coordinates. We should be getting the feedback anytime now."

He was right. In a matter of seconds, a huge display of what seemed like the North Pole came up on screen.

"Ah great," Hotshot lamented. "We have to go back there again."

"Quit your whining," Smokescreen responded. "Would you rather have the Decepticons get that Minicon?"

"No!" Hotshot said childishly. "I just wish it could have been a little closer to the equator or something."

Optimus rolled his optics. "Come on, both of you, we're wasting valuable time."

The two bots' feud ended there, and then they all started to head towards the "warp gate" (whatever that was). When the other three had left, Optimus turned back to me. "Caitlin?"

I straightened up at the sound of my name. "Y- yes?"

"You can accompany us on this mission if you so desire."

I looked quickly at Sideswipe, who nodded vigorously. Let's go! This should be fun! he answered energetically.

"Why not?"

Alllllllrighty then! 

Optimus chuckled at my Minicon's display of fervor. "I suppose we should get going then."

I followed Optimus and Sideswipe to the warp gate where Red-Alert, Hotshot, and Smokescreen had already transformed and were waiting.

"Hmm. Eeeney, meeney, miney..."

MOE!!! Sideswipe shouted happily as he pulled me towards Red-Alert.

"Jeez, Sideswipe, are you hyper or what?"

Nope. I just wanna get to that Minicon! Hey, Longarm, can we ride with your partner?

The crane Minicon spoke to Red-Alert, who almost instantly opened his door, chuckling. "Come on in," he said kindly.

"Thank you," I responded gratefully.

"You're quite welcome. Though I do suggest you strap yourself in."

Take his advice, Sideswipe said. This warping stuff is crazy!

I did as was told, and then asked, "Is warping like what we would call teleporting or something?"

"You could say that. The first few times can be a 'rush' as Carlos phrases it."

"Sweet."

"Okay Optimus, we're all set!" Hotshot called out.

"Launch!" The leader shouted.

And, in the blink of an eye, we had left the base.

TBC

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DMK: Dude… I know that really sucked. But, hey! Maybe the next two chapters will make up for that. (Not bloody likely… -_-;;) Please, have pity on me and review.


	5. Battle

DMK: So… come back for more of my horrible fic? Suit yourself. The same stupid disclaimer applies, so don't sue me. Next, I have several warnings:

One: VERY short.

Two: Events are slightly OUT OF ORDER

Three: Scavenger shows up. (is that really a warning?)

And, Four: The star saber has already been found, it just hasn't been mentioned yet.

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CHAPTER 5 (Very short, I know)

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was white. Sheer white.

Sideswipe gave a whoop. Oh, YEAH! I haven't done that in so long!

Longarm responded in much the same way. Yee-hah! I'll never get over warping!

"Are you okay?" Red-Alert asked me, clearly concerned.

"That. Was. So. COOL!"

The Cybertronian medic laughed. "You humans are a strange species, you know?"

"Hey, to us you're not exactly normal, either."

"Yes, I suppose so."

I stepped out of Red's cab, and sunk about two feet into the snow. "Aw nuts!"

Ha-ha! Hey, need help?

Sideswipe, who had found a more shallow snow drift, along with Longarm, helped me up. Hotshot and Smokescreen watched, amused, while Optimus and Red-Alert transformed. 

It was cold. Wow, cold.

"So where do we go from here?" Hotshot asked his leader.

Prime was about to answer when the words, "Nowhere!" accompanied by a torrent of laser blasts, reached us.

"Scatter!" Optimus ordered as he ducked under a blast.

"Sideswipe!" I called.

Right! Transform! He yelled, then pulling around so I could mount him.

"Run!" I had heard Hotshot shout to me. "Try to find the Minicon!"

"You got it!"

We were about thirty feet away from the battlefield when I came face-to-face with another Transformer. This one was big, green, and obviously a Decepticon.

"Yaaaah! Sideswipe! Bank right!"

We turned only seconds before a hand the size of a pickup would have slammed down on top of us. 

"Where are you going, human? We were just starting to have fun," he said as he tried to flatten us again.

"Pretty sadistical idea of fun, don't you think?" I shot back.

Dude! Never taunt a Decepticon! Sideswipe shouted fearfully.

Hotshot, who had noticed the Decepticon trying to play whack-a-human, cried out, "Scavenger! Your fight's with us! Leave her out of this!"

"'Scavenger'?" I repeated.

He stopped and looked down at me. "Yes, I suppose we haven't met. Megatron told me about the pesky human girl who got away. Kudos on escaping, but you won't have such luck against me." He reached down again.

Sideswipe and I were about to clear his hand, when the Motorcross Minicon's back tire sank into a drift.

Slaggit! Need... Tire chains...!!

"Duck!" I shouted as Scavenger's fist passed over us.

Boom!

I looked to the left, and saw Hotshot, gun smoking. "Ow! You little upstart! You'll regret that!" And in a second Scavenger had transformed into a bulldozer vehicle mode and was barreling towards the yellow Autobot.

We then took the opportunity to get as far away from that battlefield as we could. We traveled up the side of an iceberg/mountain, and watched the battle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glimmer of green light.

"Ha! I found it!" I said happily.

Too bad Starscream had as well. "That Minicon is mine!" He shouted at me.

"I don't think so, rust-bucket!!"

He landed in front of me, towering some twenty feet over my head. "I _dare_ you to say that again."

I had opened my mouth to repeat myself, when the ice below us cracked, and bowed inward.

Move! Sideswipe shouted as he cleared the gaping hole that had opened below me.

"Ahhhh!!" I fell.

I fell for so long, and then- blackness.

TBC

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DMK: Aren't cliffhangers great? Hee… well, if anyone is still interested in what happens next, review. If not, well, that's life.


	6. Truce

DMK: Ah, back for more, I see. Well, okay. This chapter is much longer than the last (but just as bad). And I have an important authors note: the little "Hotshot snoring" sequence didn't make much sense because the tf's are supposed to have their own quarters, right? Well, how about this: the Starsaber had been found a couple days before, and the base was still a wreck thanks to the D-Cons, namely their dwelling areas were trashed. Sooooo, they were forced to "camp out" in the main hall until the base was fully repaired. Makes sense, right? Good.

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CHAPTER 6

I came to, in a huge ice cavern. There was enough light to see, and when I saw what I was sitting on, I gave a yelp of surprise.

"Ahhh!"

It was Starscream.

Because of my shout, he came to, and sat up, causing me to slide off his chest plate and land roughly on the icy ground.

"HEY! Give people some warning when you do that!" I shouted at him.

He rubbed his head for a moment. "What?! Where are we?!"

"Because of _you_, we're trapped in a cave of ice that could collapse at any moment!"

"Me?! A midget like you is pinning the fault on _me_?!"

"'Midget'?! NOBODY CALLS ME A MIDGET!!!"

Starscream began to laugh as he tortured me, when a rumble shut us both up. "Shhhh!" I said quickly.

"What for?"

"The echoes of our voices- if we make one wrong sound, this whole place will come down."

"It doesn't matter to me," the red and white Decepticon boasted. "I can survive an avalanche if it does collapse."

"I doubt that." I said flatly. "Listen, if you want out of here in one piece, you'll take my advice," I said.

"Why?" he mocked. "I could just eliminate you right now. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

I pointed up. "Because. There isn't just ice above us. There are stalactites of rock that can pierce your hide no matter what you're made of, and if you try to pull anything on me, I can always scream..."

He snorted. "Fine. I declare a truce until we are free."

I smiled and nodded. "Then it's settled. We work together until we see daylight again."

BACK ABOVE GROUND...

The sound of an avalanche reached the warring parties' audios. They stopped and turned, and watched the mountain collapse.

"No!" Hotshot exclaimed. "Caitlin was up there!"

UNDERGROUND...

We began walking, but as we moved in one direction, the icy floor below us was full of deep cracks. I entertained myself by trying to jump over them, but eventually I couldn't clear them. I slipped, and fell, painfully twisting my ankle.

"Ow," I muttered. "Darn slippery ice."

The red and white Transformer paused for a moment, looked to the ground, shook his head, and reached down to me. Naturally I flinched, but when I opened my eyes, his hand was simply outstretched to me.

"What?"

"Come on," he ordered, remaining as aloof as physically possible.

I paused for only a moment, and then stepped onto his hand (as best I could with an injured leg), and was then placed on his shoulder. Without another word, he continued on.

"Uhh... thanks..." I said softly.

"Don't get too attached," he stated flatly. "Once we're out of here, we're enemies again, and don't you forget that."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to remind _me_ twice. I was just showing you gratitude."

"What's that?"

I nearly fell off of him. "You mean you don't know what gratitude is?! You Decepticons are a sorry lot, aren't you?"

He snorted. "Emotions get in your way when you fight. The Autobots are too soft to accept that fact."

I shook my head. "Un. be. lieveable. And here I was thinking you were one of the only decent D-cons around."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, from what I saw yesterday, you don't blindly follow Megatron like those others."

"You speak nonsense. I follow my leader's orders to the letter."

"No, that's not what I mean. You have a _conscience_, the others don't. _That's_ why."

"Hn..." 

That's when we came into a clearing, with two possible routes. "Perfect." I said flatly. "Just. Perfect."

"So?" Starscream asked mockingly. "Which way, human?"

I snorted. "I would guess left, because there's more light coming from that tunnel, meaning it's closer to the surface. And for your information, I have a name."

"Oh? Well, what is it?"

"It's Caitlin, alright? I'd prefer you call me that over your current choices."

"Fine, _Caitlin_," he sighed, walking into the left tunnel. "Honestly, I'll never be able to understand you humans."

I sighed also, and mocked him by saying, "Honestly, _I'll_ never be able to understand you _Decepticons_."

Starscream shook his head in disbelief and walked on. Though the tunnel had shown more light, we were going downhill, moving away from the rays that illuminated our path. Then-

Dead-end.

"B. E. A. Utiful." I muttered, clearly getting frustrated with our luck. ((A/N: Can you guess which movie that's from? I'll give you candy if you guess it right… Hint: it takes place in Buffalo, N.Y))

"Well, now what?" Starscream asked. But this time, he seemed less mocking and more serious.

"We head back, I guess."

Boom! Crack!

"What the?! What the heck was that?!"

"I don't know." I answered. "Wait! Listen."

Faintly at first, a rushing sound reached our ears, and eventually gained volume. I sort of knew what it was, but couldn't quite put my finger on it until-

"Uh-oh."

"What, 'uh-oh'?"

Fwoosh!

In a cascade of icy blue-green, Arctic water gushed into our little cavern. It swirled around Starscream's ankles and within moments was at his knees.

"We're being flooded! What do we do?!"

"Whatever we do we must act quickly- my circuits are starting to freeze over!"

I thought for only a moment. "How strong are your laser cannons?"

"Powerful enough to probably get us out of here."

"Okay..." my mind was racing. "Uh... set me down on that ledge over there and then transform into your jet mode. I can get in your cockpit, you fire those null cannons off, and then we can fly outta here."

"You're trusting me to not abandon you?"

The water was now up to his waist. "I'm holding you to the promise you made back when we fell. Will _you_ betray it?"

He looked at me for a moment, and then turned to the nearby ledge. He picked me off his shoulder relatively gently, and set me down on that outcrop.

"Transform!!" He shouted, reverting into his jet form. Then, he hovered above the water, and brought the cockpit of his alt mode around as close to the wall as possible. "Jump!" he exclaimed just as another loud booming tremor rocked the ground.

I teetered precariously on my good foot, and leapt as far forward as I possibly could.

I missed.

I fell quickly toward the frigid water, and landed with a splash. My body convulsed once from the shockingly cold temperature, and I struggled quickly to the surface. "Starscream!" I shouted helplessly. "Help!"

I sank below for a moment, my body quickly stiffening from the cold water. _Darn it!_ I thought in my mind. _He ditched me!_ I may have shouted something like, "You backstabber!", but I was focused on trying not to become a human-cicle, so I sort of don't remember.

Suddenly, a big metal hand scooped me out of the water, and hastily tossed into the air. I hardly cared where I would land, though. I was so cold that I was focused on trying to keep warm, and could barely feel myself land in the red and white jet's cockpit.

"Null cannons... Fire!"

Boom! Boom!

I shook myself out of my frozen state and saw the icy prison around us come crashing down. Screamy fired the afterburners, and we flew out of that cave seconds before we would have drowned and been frozen.

"Yee-hah!" I cried happily, though still shivering uncontrollably. "We're free!"

Starscream laughed his typical evil way. "So _what_ was that about me ditching you?" he retorted in a mocking tone.

"Sorry I jumped to conclusions, Screamy. Maybe there's hope for you bad guys, after all. And, uh, thanks for saving my behind in there."

"Um... what does one say in response to gratitude?"

"Last time I checked it was 'you're welcome'."

"Ah, then you're welcome, I guess."

Awww! I thought. The bad guys aren't really bad! They're just misguided and confused, and-

Sheww! Sheww!

Suddenly, laser fire was lighting up the sky all around us. I looked down, and both Hotshot and Smokescreen were letting lose round after round. "This is as far as I go!" Starscream called out to me, his voice suddenly cold and dark again. He instantly preformed a mid-air roll, dodging near-miss shots, reminding me of my favorite roller coaster back at Six Flags ((A/N: Which is Medusa at Six Flags Marine World ^_^)). Starscream skimmed only feet above the snow-covered ground, and flipped upside-down.

"What the heck are you-!"

"It was nice while it lasted, human!" the seeker crowed maniacally, opening his hatch.

That's when I realized that there was no type of seatbelt whatsoever. "Ahhh!" I cried in shock as I fell from Starscream's cockpit, and landed with a dull thud in the snow. So remember kids: _fasten your freakin' seatbelts!!_ I should have broken my neck from that fall, but the thick snow provided me with the cushioning I needed to make it out in one piece.

"Great." I muttered. I was still a good distance away from the others, and my foot still hurt.

Hey! Cait!

I turned halfway around to see Sideswipe driving towards me quickly, Longarm and Sparkplug not too far behind. I let out a sigh of relief. "What's the stitch, guys?" Internally, I cringed. _Ugh! That is the **last** time I let my friends make me watch a "Kim Possible" marathon_, I told myself. _I swear, those guys are too old for cartoons_… ((Ha!))

We have the Minicon, but we saw you fall. Red-Alert went to find you. Longarm answered.

"Well, I'm here. Let's get back to the others." I hopped on Sideswipe who took off towards the battlefield ahead. In only minutes, the four of us had reached Optimus, who looked down at me in surprise.

"Caitlin? But I thought-"

"I found a way out," I answered confidently. "So, can we ditch this icebox or what?"

He nodded, and then picked me up in his hands, along with the other Minicons. "Autobots! Warp!"

Instantaneously, we disappeared from the Decepticons sight, and reappeared inside the base.

I sighed in elation again. Heat! Warmth! I cried happily in my mind. "You okay kid?" I heard Smokescreen ask me, upon taking a closer look at me.

"Sure, just give me twenty minutes to thaw, and I'll be fine," I responded wryly.

What happened to you? Sideswipe asked me. You're, like, soaking wet!

"I went for a swim in the Arctic," I responded again with sarcasm.

"Hey you guys!" I looked to the huge door to see Rad, Carlos, and Alexis, along with Highwire, Grinder, and Sureshock. "You went on a mission without us?" Carlos asked in a disappointed tone.

"Well, you wouldn't have wanted to come anyway. That Minicon was up in the Arctic."

"Been there, done that," Carlos answered. "You guys got the Minicon, right?"

"Sure did!" Hotshot answered happily. "And we kicked some serious Decepti-booty too!"

Well, that was my first real adventure with the Autobots. It was cool, and I even got to understand the way that the Decepticons think and act. I swear, one of these days, Screamy will turn good. Maybe not in the near future, but eventually. Until then, I'm going to help the good guys any way I can!

TBC

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DMK: Whew! Done! 'Bout slaggin' time, huh? Anyway, The next chapter will probably involve Sideways going from good to bad, and Scavenger going from bad to good. You know, sorta my take on "Credulous" and "Conspiracy". I know this sucked BIG time but hey- we all have our bad days. (Some of us more than others). BTW, don't ask about the reference to "Kim Possible"… I really don't care for that show, and my friends LOVE it. They drive me NUTS about it... -_-;; I had a suggestion to throw a little "Gundam" into the mix, but I don't know. What do you guys think? Alrighty, I'm off!

Hotshot: Why don't you try to finish "IT" while you're at it?

DMK: ::growls:: whatever. Just review this, pwetty, pwetty, pweeze?


	7. Preparation

DMK: Hey! People like the way I did this! Coolies! Anyhoo, I'm gonna try to write my own take on the episodes , , , and maybe a little of if I'm lucky. All I know is that I want to get Sideways into this fic soon, so rejoice, Sideways fans! You will see him soon! Oh, and rejoice, anti-Billy and Fred people, because they hardly show up!  
  
  
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Chapter 7  
  
  
Well, it had been a few days since I had gone to the Arctic with the Autobots. You'd think I would have gotten phenumonia from the little up there, but the only thing really I caught was a little head cold. I didn't seem to care though; a few doses of DayQuil and a bit of rest kept me going. By now I was almost better, but I still had a bit of that nasal sound and I got little headaches from time to time. By the way, school had finally started, which kept me away from the Autobots. Well, except for weekends. Rad, Carlos, and Alexis had begun eighth grade, while I moved up to tenth. It was Friday, so I decided to pay a much-desired visit to the Autobots. Once clear of the city and halfway to their base, Sideswipe met up with me.  
  
Hey! Where have _you_ been?  
  
Oh, well school started. The ammount of homework those teachers give us shouldn't be legal, I tell you.  
  
School'? Homework'? What are those?  
  
Very effective ways of torturing us human kids.  
  
He stared at me blankly. And they _allow_ that?  
  
Dude, I'm kidding! School is where we go to learn stuff, though some of the information is completely irrelevant. Homework is applying that knowledge in assignments, like solving math equations and whatnot.  
  
Oh.  
  
So, anything new happen while I was gone?  
  
Well, they totally fixed the base up, so no more of Hotshot's snoring at night.  
  
Thank God for that, I responded in elation. Anything else?  
  
We got a hold of a few more Minicons, but that's about it.  
  
Well hey, that's not bad.  
  
We arrived at the mouth of the cave, where I saw Carlos pulling skateboard tricks with Grinder on a makeshift halfpipe. 'Ey! Sup chica? Haven't seen you around in a while. He said after doing a 180 and coming to a stop in the middle of the wooden ramp.  
  
Ah, nothin' much. I was just totally weighted down with homework.  
  
Us too. Dude, I _so_ miss seventh grade, he moaned childishly.  
  
You're gonna hate it in Highschool, I told him, walking further into the cave. I'm going to go say hi to the others, okay?  
  
A'ight. See ya! He responded as he started to ride his halfpipe again.  
  
It was a hop, skip, and a jump to the front of the base, but there was no way for me to open it. Knock, Knock! I called out in a happy tone.  
  
The smooth wall opened quickly, and Hotshot was there, grinning with his hands on his hips. What's the password?  
  
I'll give you a password, I said dryly, though I was still smiling.  
  
He laughed. I'm just messin' with ya! Come on in, midget!  
  
I glared up at him. _What_ did you call me?  
  
Midget. That's what ya are compared ta me, right?  
  
You shouldn't do that, Hotshot! I heard Alexis call from inside. She's really touchy about her height!  
  
Ah, _I_ see how it is... the yellow Transformer began slyly, his grin mischievous.  
  
Don't even _think_ about it, I told him sternly.  
  
He laughed again. Fine, you win. How about we go see the rest of the guys then?  
  
Why not? I answered as I followed him into the aincent spaceship. As I entered the main hall area, I saw Rad and Alexis sitting on a couch, working diligently on some kind of homework. Highwire, Sureshock, Jolt and Liftor were hanging around nearby, busy talking in their native language of beeps and electronic tones. There were three Minicons that I hadn't seen before, too, and they turned to face me as I neared them.  
  
Hey there, stranger! The first one said cheerfully. My name's Runway.  
  
And I'm Sonar, A second one stated.  
  
You can call me Jetstorm, the third one piped in. You must be Sideswipe's partner, Caitlin, right?  
  
That's me, alright. Nice to meet you three. I looked up to Hotshot, and then asked, Are these the Minicons you saved while I was gone?  
  
These guys? Nah. They've been around before you got here.  
  
Rad, who had given up on his Science assignment, looked up from the paper and said, Those three can actually combine. It's actually pretty cool when you see them do it.  
  
Combine? Into what?  
  
We turn into a super-powerful sword called the Starsaber! Nobody messes with us when we're in _that_ form. Jetstorm stated proudly.  
  
But who uses the sword?  
  
That would be my job, Hotshot answered. Optimus sorta put me in charge of   
  
Well, if you have this sword, why is the war still going? Can't you defeat them?  
  
Hotshot lost his kinder demeanor, which turned a little dark. Well... uh, I can beat most of them like they were nothing, but I can't seem to take down that gear-brain Scavenger.  
  
Oh, _him_. That would be a problem wouldn't it?  
  
There was something weird about Scavenger when I first encountered him in the Arctic. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he was different from the other D-cons. Well, aside from the fact that he seemed smarter than most of them, it felt like he had a hidden agenda ((A/N: Foreshadowing!!)).  
  
Just then, the alarm began to wail, signaling another Minicon was coming on-line.  
  
Oh, yeah! Showtime! Hotshot crowed, heading for the control room. Let's move!  
  
Rad, Alexis, and I followed, and Carlos rushed by us on Grinder. We all made it to the command center, where Optimus, Smokescreen, and Red-Alert were already working on various consoles, determining the location of the new Minicon. Alexis went to her laptop, and began typing in the coordinates as well.   
  
Alexis, coordinates, stat! Optimus ordered in his typical voice.  
  
It's coming from grid sector 2935... she looked up at the monitor. The signal's from the freeway tunnel!  
  
Well then, looks like we're back in business, Autobots! Hotshot said happily.  
  
Smokescreen was clearly itching for a battle, and he swung his crane around a few times. Alright! Minicon, here we come!  
  
I started to Rad. Where the heck are Dumb and Dumber?  
  
You mean Billy and Fred?  
  
  
  
Carlos answered. They're uh, kinda scared of you.  
  
Hey, I can't help it if they drive me nuts!  
  
At the sound of my voice, the Autobot leader turned and looked down at me. Ah, Caitlin, good to see you again.  
  
I smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. It's good to be back.  
  
So then, is my backup ready? Hotshot asked, grinning, looking down at the Rad, Alexis, and Carlos, who ran over to his feet.  
  
Hey you guys, _where_ do you think _your_ going? I called to them.  
  
We promised Hotshot that we'd cover him in battle, and a promise is a promise! Carlos said confidently.  
  
But you know you guys are just gonna get in the way, I reasoned.  
  
Aww, come on, chica, nothing's gonna go wrong! Let us go, pretty pretty please?he begged me, clasping his hands together.  
  
Yeah, they're just coming along for moral support, Hotshot added.  
  
I sighed and looked up at the three _reasonable_ Autobots pleadingly. Well, she _does_ have a point, Smokescreen said to Optimus.  
  
Hmm, what do you think, Red-Alert?  
  
The cheif science officer/medic nodded, giving them the all clear.  
  
Then it's settled. You can come with us, but Hotshot, their your responsibility. Optimus concluded.  
  
Yes sir!  
  
I sighed and threw my hands into the air. _Fine_. I guess I'm coming, too.  
  
Then let's roll!  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@*~*@  
  
  
DMK: Okay... I know Sideways will definetly be in the next chapter for sure! Just don't hit me! ::cringes for misleading all of the avid Sideways fans:: But I want a little bit of advice- Fred and Billy aren't here, so I'm wondering if should Caitlin take the ride on Sideways, or leave that part out????  
  
Caitlin: I've always wanted to ride on Sideways!! Please?! I think that would be so FUN!!  
  
Sideways: Dude... if you wanted a ride, you should have just asked me.  
  
Caitlin: Cool! ::jumps onto Sideways in vehicle mode:: Let's go!  
  
Sideways: Uhh... okay. ::takes off::  
  
Caitlin: Wheeeee!  
  
DMK: HEY! I get to ride him NEXT!!!


End file.
